Awards Season 2023: The 95th Academy Awards

So the curtain has come down on awards season 2023 with tonight's 95th Academy Awards. No slaps, no f-bombs, no awards accidentally given to other films, and no massively major shocks. Overall, a joyous evening. 

Returning to host for a third time, Jimmy Kimmel did pretty well in his opening monologue, starting by being parachuted in by Tom Cruise's Maverick. Yes, there were mentions of the slap a few time but didn't overdo it, and also a sly dig at the traditional (over)length of the telecast [although the broadcast took about 3hrs 30m which is average], and one of two little barbs slung at Matt Damon (Kimmel's nemesis, or so he would have us believe). Kimmel was an affable presence, even if him asking Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai if she thought Harry Styles did spit on Chris Pine was one of the more WTF moments of the night. 

Musical numbers were a mixed bag - whilst the production of "Naatu Naatu" from RRR was an absolute riot, and the stripped-back version of "Hold My Hand" was sublime, I can only describe the performance of "This Is A Life" from Everything Everywhere All At Once as a sixth-form drama student's fever-dream (complete with David Byrne wearing hot-dog fingers). 

The set design for this year's even was beautifully done, very art deco (well, we are technically back in the Roaring Twenties). There was also an interesting use of technology with QR codes shown onscreen which would give more information about nominees in an upcoming category. 

Onto the awards themselves.

Five out of six ain't bad, although I expected the category I would struggle to get right was Best Actress. The audience reaction to Ke Huy Quan's win was just wonderful; he had a lot of goodwill in that room, and he was clearly very moved by it all. Jamie Lee Curtis' lovely acceptance speech highlighted the people around her, by saying "we won an Oscar". Ruth Carter very touchingly dedicated her award for Costume Design for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to her 101-year old mother who sadly passed away this week. Another particularly lovely bit was the cast and crew of An Irish Goodbye using part of their acceptance speech time to get the assembled audience to sing "happy birthday" to cast member James Martin.  

 

The biggest winner of the evening was Everything Everywhere All At Once, taking home seven awards. All Quiet On The Western Front won four Oscars, whilst the only other film to win multiple awards was The Whale (winning two of its three nominations)

Despite multiple nominations, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, The Fabelmans, Tár, Babylon, The Batman, and Triangle Of Sadness all went away empty-handed. 

Below is the full list of winners at the 95th Academy Awards:

Best Motion Picture of the Year: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Original Screenplay: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley (Women Talking)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

Best International Feature Film of the Year: All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Cinematography: All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Film Editing: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Production Design: All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Whale

Best Original Score: All Quiet On The Western Front

Best Original Song: "Naatu Naatu" (RRR)

Best Sound: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way Of Water

Best Documentary (Feature): Navalny

Best Documentary (Short Subject): The Elephant Whisperers

Best Animated Short Film: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, And The Horse

Best Live Action Short Film: An Irish Goodbye

Congratulations to all winners!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed. It's very nearly 5:30am here. Time to pack this nonsense away until the end of the year. 

Awards Season 2023: Tez's Official Oscar Predictions

Tonight, the great and good of Hollywood will convene to celebrate the best of film-making in 2022 at the 95th Academy Awards.

Jimmy Kimmel returns to host for the third time. After the controversy of last year, Kimmel's got a bit of a poisoned chalice. The audience are going to be expecting some comment about the slap, as it's difficult to ignore, so not saying a word about it is off the table. He's going to be hoping he has a night like he did hosting the 90th Oscars (where things went very right) and not the 89th ("And the Oscar goes to... a completely different film") 

Nonetheless, it has become a tradition for me to predict the nominations and the winners in the main six categories (the four acting categories, Best Director and Best Picture). I've done this since 2003 with varying degrees of success. Last year, I got 6 out of 6. I'll be very surprised if I equal that feat today...

So, without further ado, here are my predictions for who will win.

Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

To my shame, the Best Supporting Actress category is the only one of the six I try and predict in which I've seen all five nominees. On a personal level, I absolutely adored Kerry Condon's performance in The Banshees Of Inisherin but I believe she'll need to be happy to have the BAFTA. Tonight, I do think the Academy are going to take some faltering steps into the 21st century, and acknowledge that- actually- these comicbook movie things can contain performances that will alternately invigorate and devastate you. Bassett was last nominated for an Oscar nearly 30 years ago (for playing Tina Turner in What's Love Got To Do With It]; I genuinely think she'll get this - and she'll deserve it wholeheartedly. From coolly addressing the UN and pulling what can only be described as an absolute baller move there, to having to rule a country riven with grief, it's a performance of stoicism and power. When she breaks, and rages that "I am Queen of the most powerful nation in the world! And my entire family is gone! Have I not given everything?" you absolutely feel and believe in her anger and frustration. 

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

From the beginning of this year's awards hoop-la, several categories have featured a diverse spread of nominees winning here and there. Not Best Supporting Actor, not this awards season. Ke Huy Quan has been the runaway winner in both Best Supporting Actor races and gender-neutral Best Supporting Role categories. And rightly so. Due to the nature of the film (multiversal shenanigans meets generational trauma), the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once do get to show range and versatility in their performances as they cross through. Quan gets one of the juicier arcs, going from a mild-mannered mouse of a man in the current iteration, to a suave James Bond-esque character in another; yet, underneath it all, Waymond's warmth and humility shine through. He also gets a wonderful moment in the film which is a) meme-able, b) relatable, and c) perfect to show at awards shows in nominees' showreel. It's when he gives this universal plea, "The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind. Especially when we don't know what's going on." This is one of his first major roles since coming back to acting as an adult, and his "narrative" (for want of a better word) is something that the Academy tend to recognise. Something that might also come into play later...

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

The lead acting categories this year have been turbulent; there have been so many strong lead female performances that "snubs" have abounded across awards bodies. Yet there's been a core duo whose performances have beguiled, exhilarated, infuriated and resonated with awards bodies around the globe: it's between Michelle Yeoh for the multiversal madness of Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Cate Blanchett for her imperious turn in Tár. I am not 100% certain that Yeoh will win, although her victory at the SAG Awards would suggest she'd be in a better position to take home the Oscar. At the beginning of this awards season, I'd have said Blanchett will be taking home her third Little Golden Bald Naked Man. Now, I'm not sure. I certainly won't be mad if Blanchett did win, but in terms of the role and the journey it takes the actress on, Yeoh's differing takes on Evelyn- glamorous, downtrodden, sausage-fingered- has a lot to recommend it.   

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

I am absolutely torn here. For the cynical "narrative" (as I said before re: Ke Huy Quan) of the moment, Fraser is probably odds-on to win. And on that side of things- for his cultural renaissance after years in the wilderness because he dared to speak- I'd love him to win. And he does give an absolutely heartwrenching turn as the reclusive, morbidly obese teacher trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter before it's too late. On the level of acting skill and ability, Fraser's performance cannot be negatively criticised; he absolutely commands every scene. But I have many misgivings about the film itself (putting it mildly, it's problematic for me in a lot of places), and I have misgivings that an "endorsement" (like a win) from the Academy may mean the legitimacy of those misgivings get diluted and not addressed. I also need to do some research about Samuel D. Hunter (the writer of the original play, and the screenwriter) before I discuss my misgivings. That may come as a blog post soon. 

Essentially, I do think it's most likely that Brendan Fraser might win (again, I think his SAG win puts him head and shoulders above), but I wouldn't discount Austin Butler. His turn in Elvis is very strong and he's uncanny as the younger Presley; he's also taken several major wards (BAFTA and Golden Globe- Musical/Comedy) so we might be up for a surprise towards the end of the broadcast... 

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All At Once

At the start of awards season, looking at the potential stars of this year's carnival of cinema, I genuinely thought Everything Everywhere All At Once was an outlier, too rich and too high-concept for the blood of Academy voters (stereotypically old straight white men). A well-made drama like The Fabelmans or All Quiet On The Western Front would seem more to their tastes. But big wins at both the Directors Guild Awards and Producers Guild Awards puts this in pole position for the two big awards.  

If Kwan and Scheinert do win, they'll be the third directing duo to take Best Director, following in the footsteps of Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (West Side Story [1961]) and Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country For Old Men [2007]). Were I to be flippant, I'd say see if you can tell if the host for that category comes out with two awards not one and you might have your answer. 

As for Everything Everywhere All At Once winning Best Picture, it's looking the most likely and it would be a very different kind of Best Picture winner. Will it stand the test of time? I don't know. But is it trying something different? Absolutely so. Is it a "worthy" winner? It's certainly unique and trying to use unconventional techniques to interrogate well-used tropes. And, if I'm honest, it's one of the most visually striking and innovative films of the year. Whilst my heart belongs unequivocally to The Banshees Of Inisherin, I do think one of the last pronouncements of the evening will be: "And the Oscar goes to... Everything Everywhere All At Once". 

In other categories (these are not official predictions, just what I'd like to see), I'd like to see: 

• The Banshees Of Inisherin and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery take Original and Adapted Screenplay respectively (although it feels more likely that Everything Everywhere All At Once and All Quiet On The Western Front will take them)
• Ruth E. Carter to win Best Costume Design for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• John Williams to win Best Original Score for The Fabelmans; 
• "Naatu Naatu" from RRR to take Best Original Song; and, 
• Best Animated Short to go to either (based purely on their titles alone) An Ostrich Told Me The World Is Fake And I Think I Believe It, or My Year Of Dicks.

(Riz Ahmed was admirably straight-faced when announcing the latter of those films at the nominations announcement ceremony!)

So there are my predictions. What do you think? Some dead certs there, surely? Or am I right off the money? Let me know what you think.  

I'll be watching the Oscars live broadcast tonight (well, early hours of Monday morning) and will update with my thoughts on the ceremony and all the winners as soon as I can once it finishes.

Awards Season 2023: Academy Award Nominations

As announced earlier this afternoon, here are some of the official nominations for the 95th Academy Awards:

BEST PICTURE

All Quiet On The Western Front

Avatar: The Way Of Water

The Banshees Of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Triangle Of Sadness

Women Talking

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Field (Tár)

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Ruben Östlund (Triangle Of Sadness)

Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

BEST ACTOR

Austin Butler (Elvis)

Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Paul Mescal (Aftersun)

Bill Nighy (Living)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Tár)

Ana de Armas (Blonde)

Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie)

Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans)

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway)

Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)

Barry Keoghan (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Hong Chau (The Whale)

Kerry Condon (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

A full list of nominees can be found here. 

If I've done my maths right, we are looking at 29/35 (83%). Better than last year, so that's a plus. 

A couple of big surprises, namely the Best Picture/Director nods for Triangle Of Sadness, and British actress Andrea Riseborough's shock (in the best possible way) Best Actress nomination for To Leslie. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance, but the film has had increased awareness over the last few weeks, as it's being signal boosted by several high-profile actresses. 

A couple of interesting little facts: all five of the Best Actor nominees are first-time nominees. The German-language version of All Quiet On The Western Front has nine nods, as opposed to the four given to the 1930 English-language version (which won Best Picture and Best Director). Angela Bassett's nod is the first acting nomination for any Marvel film, and Judd Hirsch receives his second Oscar nomination after a whoppping 42 years (he was previously nominated for Ordinary People in 1981).

Everything Everywhere All At Once has 11 nominations to lead the field, with All Quiet On The Western Front and The Banshees Of Inisherin tying for second place with nine apiece. 

Congratulations to all nominees!

The 95th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday 12th March 2023, at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Jimmy Kimmel will be returning to host for the third time, after his consecutive appearances MCing the 89th and 90th Oscars.

For those not interested in the awards season circus, you'll be glad to know there's going to be a brief hiatus in the proceedings; our next awards season stop on the road to the 95th Academy Awards will be the weekend of 18th/19th February. 

Awards Season 2023: Tez's Official Academy Award Nomination Predictions

 

Tomorrow morning (5:30AM PT/8:30AM ET/1:30PM GMT), the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced. This year, they will be announced by Riz Ahmed (Sound Of Metal, Rogue One, Four Lions) and Allison Williams (Get Out, M3gan, Girls).

Since 2003, I have tried to predict who will be nominated in several of the major categories (Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting awards). Below is my list of who I think will be named tomorrow.

BEST PICTURE

All Quiet On The Western Front

Avatar: The Way Of Water

Babylon

The Banshees Of Inisherin

Elvis

Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Fabelmans

Tár

Top Gun: Maverick

Women Talking

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Field (Tár)

Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Sarah Polley (Women Talking)

Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

BEST ACTOR

Austin Butler (Elvis)

Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Paul Mescal (Aftersun)

Bill Nighy (Living)

BEST ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (Tár)

Viola Davis (The Woman King)

Ana de Armas (Blonde)

Danielle Deadwyler (Till)

Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Paul Dano (The Fabelmans)

Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Barry Keoghan (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

Hong Chau (The Whale)

Kerry Condon (The Banshees Of Inisherin)

Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

As we now have 10 Best Picture nominees (in addition to the 20 for acting and 5 for directing), I will be happy with any score over 20. Last year, it was 26/35 (74%)

I'm confident of seven (maybe eight) of the Best Picture nominees; Babylon and/or All Quiet On The Western Front may well be replaced by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and/or Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. 

With Best Director, there's been a core of four [well, technically five] consistent names (the Daniels, Field, McDonagh and Spielberg) so it's working out who would join them. I went for Sarah Polley in a rather optimistic mood that they'd continue the streak of female directors, but it's far from definite. We could easily see James Cameron (Avatar: The Way Of Water) or Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) get a nod, with Kosinski nominated at the DGAs.

Given the Academy's form over the previous couple of years, a nomination for a foreign-language film director- potentially S.S. Rajamouli (RRR), Park Chan-wook (Decision To Leave), or Edward Berger (All Quiet On The Western Front)- might not be out of the question. Hell, they may still nominate a female director: Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King). 

Best Actor seems fairly secure, although you might see Jeremy Pope (The Inspection) or even potentially Hugh Jackman (The Son) in place of Paul Mescal. Best Actress has been a wide field this year, with a lot of superb performances getting nominated across the various awards bodies. I went with the five SAG Awards nominees, although the Academy could seek to honour Olivia Colman (Empire Of Light), Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans), or Margot Robbie (Babylon) instead.

With Best Supporting Actor, I'm confident of three at the very least- Gleeson, Keoghan, and Quan. Dano seems fairly secure, but there's been a lot of good supporting performances which might sneak in, including Brad Pitt (Babylon), Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway), and Dano's co-star in The Fabelmans, Judd Hirsch. Ben Whishaw could get a nod for his turn in Women Talking.

As for Best Supporting Actress, Hsu is the only one I'm not very sure of. You could easily see Carey Mulligan (She Said), Janelle Monáe (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), Dolly de Leon (Triangle Of Sadness) or Jessie Buckley and/or Claire Foy from Women Talking. 


We'll see what the Academy comes up with tomorrow afternoon. There'll be a post up as soon as I can afterwards with the official nominations.

So what do you think of my predictions? Pretty solid or way off the mark? Who do you think will (or should) get a nomination tomorrow? Let me know by commenting below.

For Your Consideration: Possible Contenders For Awards Season 2023

Well, it's about that time again... Last year, awards season crept up on me and took be my surprise (ooer, missus!). This year... I'm ready. Well, more ready than I was. 

So the awards hoopla starts tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd November) when the Film Independent Spirit Awards announce their nominees, so I thought I'd have my (mostly) annual look at the films I expect to see mentioned over the upcoming months. 

Hollywood likes movies about movies, and movies about movie-making. They're awards catnip. So it's no surprise that there are several of them in contention for this year.

Steven Spielberg's autobiographical family drama The Fabelmans is the kind of film awards were made for, and it seems very likely indeed he'll be on track to win his third Best Director Oscar. A drama about a young aspiring filmmaker (played by Gabriel LaBelle) dealing with family secrets, the performances by Michelle Williams (as mother Mitzi), Paul Dano (as father Burt), and Judd Hirsch (as Uncle Boris) have all been praised. 

Set in the 1980s in an English coastal town, Empire Of Light sees a cinema manager (Olivia Colman) and a new employee (Micheal Ward) gain a sense of belonging as they experience the power of what cinema can actually do. Sam Mendes directs and writes the screenplay, whilst the performances by Colman and Toby Jones (as the cinema projectionist) have got attention. 

Finally, let's go back to where it all began. The early days of Hollywood, in all its vivid excess and delicious debauchery, is the setting for Babylon, Damien Chazelle's latest film. Set in the late 1920s to 1930s- as cinema was going from silent films to talkies, and a new production code was being brought in to stymy the more transgressive content- it has a stellar cast, led by Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, and some truly sumptuous visuals. Definitely one to keep in mind. 

I never thought I'd ever write the words "Colin Farrell" and "Oscar nomination" in the same sentence, but thanks to his frankly stunning performance in Martin McDonagh's blackly comic The Banshees Of Inisherin, it's looking more likely. Set on a remote Irish island in the early 1920s, Farrell plays Padraig, a dull but likeable-enough fellow, whose good friend Colum (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly stops talking to him one day. Padraig's confusion at this, and the drastic measures Colum will go to to make sure it is a permanent thing, make for a heady mix of laugh-out-loud comedy and some pathos. Gleeson's performance is similarly strong, whilst there's superb support from Kerry Condon as Padraig's sister Siobhan and Barry Keoghan as island resident Dominic.

Cate Blanchett's formidable performance in Tár, a contemporary drama written and directed by Todd Field (In The Bedroom, Little Children), saw her win the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, and may well see her win her third Oscar for playing Lydia, a composer-conductor whose life and career fall apart when she is accused of grooming a former female student. 

Brendan Fraser is rightly back in the limelight for his extraordinary performance in The Whale. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem For A Dream) with a screenplay by Samuel D. Hunter- who adapts his own stage play- The Whale is a drama about a reclusive and morbidly obese teacher named Charlie who wishes to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Screening after screening has ended with standing ovations and a lot of praise for Fraser's central performance, along with the supporting turns by Sadie Sink as his daughter Ellie and Hong Chau as his friend Liz. Based on the trailer, I have a nagging feeling that this is going to be one of those films where the actors are very good in an overall production that might not be, but I'll reserve judgement until I see it.  

Actress-turned-director Sarah Polley will surely be getting some awards recognition for Women Talking, her adaptation of Miriam Toews' 2018 novel of the same name. Set in an isolated Mennonite colony, eight female members of the community come together after the shocking truth about what the men of the colony have been doing is revealed. There's a strong ensemble cast- including Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Frances McDormand, and Ben Whishaw- and the weighty themes of faith and control are sure to get people talking. 

Historical epic The Woman King tells the story of an all-female warrior unit who protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) during the 17th- to 19th centuries. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Old Guard), Viola Davis gives a fierce performance as Agojie General Nanisca who helps to train the next generation of warriors. As well as Davis' performance, the action choreography has also garnered a lot of praise. 

Florian Zeller's emotional drama The Father caused a bit of an Oscars upset a couple of years ago when Anthony Hopkins took home Best Actor instead of the assumed winner, the late Chadwick Boseman. Zeller's follow-up film, The Son, may seek to make such an impression again. Hugh Jackman is in the lead as a man whose busy life with his new partner gets disrupted when his ex-wife turns up with his teenage son in tow. Vanessa Kirby and Laura Dern play the two women in his life, while Hopkins reunites with Zeller to play Peter's father. 

Two cannibals fall in love and go on a road trip. Now I've got your attention... Bones And All is the latest film by Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria; Call Me By Your Name). Timothée Chalamet reunites with Guadagnino to play Lee, the charismatic young man who falls for Maren (played by Taylor Russell). Whilst the mix of horror, road movie, coming-of-age drama, and romance might be too much for some, the performances have been getting attention, especially that of Mark Rylance, who plays the mysterious Sully. 

It wasn't just Doctor Strange who went into a multiverse of madness this year. In the Daniels' truly mindbending Everything Everywhere All At Once, so did Michelle Yeoh. She's been getting some of the best reviews of her career for her performance as Evelyn, an overworked laundromat owner whose life alters when a multiversal rift opens during a hostile meeting with an IRS auditor. As well as Yeoh's central performance, the supporting performances by Ke Huy Quan (as Evelyn's husband Waymond) and Jamie Lee Curtis (as the auditor Deirdre) have also been praised. Perhaps all three will see their names mentioned as awards season churns on?

Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery could do well. The original Knives Out was a stunning take on the well-worn murder mystery genre, and- by the looks of things- Glass Onion will be no different. An eclectic group of "disruptors" head to a private island for a weekend of fun and games; along with them is gentleman detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). A strong ensemble cast- featuring Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, and Dave Bautista- are among the suspects this time round. I'm very much looking forward to this.

Biopics tend to do well at awards time, so here's a couple of names you might get to know very well indeed over the next few months:

Blonde: despite some controversy over the film's presentation of Marilyn Monroe, Ana de Armas' performance has been praised - it's a pretty full Best Actress category this year, so she may just squeak in (or she may miss out). 

Elvis: to play such a cultural icon as Elvis Presley is to take a huge weight on your shoulders, and Austin Butler's portrayal of the King has been lauded. Expect to see him in Best Actor contention. 

 

Till: Danielle Deadwyler (The Harder They Fall, Gifted) could well see her first Best Actress nod for playing Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of 1950s lynching victim Emmett Till, who pursued justice for her son's murder. 

She Said: films like All The President's Men, Spotlight, and The Post all show the importance of the press in thei bringing to light of corruption, abuse, and wrongdoing. She Said- directed by Maria Schrader- is based on the New York Times investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan) into the predatory behaviour of movie producer Harvey Weinstein which brought him down and kickstarted the #MeToo movement. 

I Wanna Dance With Somebody: British actress Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, Lady Macbeth) takes on the mantle of the late, great Whitney Houston in this slick biopic written by Anthony McCarten (The Theory Of Everything, The Two Popes) and directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet, Eve's Bayou)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story: could this anarchic parody of the biopic be too rich for the blood of your average awards panels? It's likely, but there's no denying the dedication that Daniel Radcliffe has to play Weird Al Yankovic. Evan Rachel Wood's performance as Madonna has also raised some eyebrows. It'll be interesting to see what (if any) awards traction this gets.  

A pair of British films which you might see mentioned a lot are Good Luck to You, Leo Grande and Living. In the latter, Bill Nighy gives what has been described as "a career-best performance" as a buttoned-down bureaucrat dealing with a terminal illness in an English-language remake of Kurosawa's Ikiru (with a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro). The former sees Emma Thompson as a widowed former teacher seeking to explore her sexuality by hiring a sex worker (Daryl McCormack). It's rare to see a film that deals with an older woman's sexual desires, let alone one that explores the subject without judgement or criticism. It's not certain if the films will travel well (meaning most likely you'll see them at BAFTA). 

  

Three big blockbusters may well be in awards contention too. But will any of Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way Of Water, or Black Panther: Wakanda Forever get a Best Picture nod? Both the original Avatar and Black Panther did in their respective years, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility. [Full disclosure: of the three I've only seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and have less than no interest in seeing Dances With Smurfs 2]. All three will doubtlessly feature heavily in the craft awards, with Production Design, Visual Effects, Sound, and Costume nods expected. I also fully expect to see "Hold My Hand" (Top Gun: Maverick) and "Lift Me Up" (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) in the Best Original Song categories. 

From this year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards are making their acting categories (for both film and television) gender neutral; for the film awards, the categories will be Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Performance (with up to ten nominees in each category). 

The timetable for the major awards in 2023 is as follows:

Film Independent Spirit Awards

Nominations announced: 22nd November 2022

Awards ceremony: 4th March 2023

Golden Globes

Nominations announced: 12th December 2022

Awards ceremony: 10th January 2023

Critics' Choice Awards

Nominations announced: 14th December 2022

Awards ceremony: 15th January 2023

Directors' Guild Of America (DGA) Award

Nominations announced: 11th January 2023

Awards ceremony: 18th February 2023

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards

Nominations announced: 11th January 2023

Awards ceremony: 26th February 2023

Producers' Guild Of America (PGA) Award

Nominations announced: 12th January 2023

Awards ceremony: 25th February 2023

BAFTA Film Awards

Nominations announced: 19th January 2023

Awards ceremony: 19th February 2023

Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies)

Nominations announced: 23rd January 2023

Awards ceremony: 11th March 2023

Academy Awards (Oscars)

Nominations announced: 24th January 2023

Awards ceremony: 12th March 2023 (hosted by Jimmy Kimmel)

Quite a busy few months ahead, so - as a very wise animated meerkat one said-